Webster Society Scholarship

Admissions

Current Scholars

J.D. Candidates, 2015

Tessa Reinhard Castner

Tessa Reinhard Castner is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. As a part of the law school community, she has been actively involved in many student organizations, including leadership roles in the Public Service Advisory Board and Class Giving Campaign. Tessa currently serves as the Chief Notes Editor on the Washington University Law Review, overseeing the publication of over forty student notes this year. Tessa has pursued her interest in litigation through an internship with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio and a summer associate position with Frost Brown Todd in Cincinnati, Ohio. In her final year, she will spend a semester interning for the Honorable Audrey G. Fleissig in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Before coming to Washington University School of Law, Tessa attended The Ohio State University where she majored in Political Science and Spanish.

Katherine Wutchiett

Katherine (Katie) Wutchiett is currently a third-year student at the law school. Throughout her time at Washington University, she has taken advantage of an incredible number of the opportunities the school has had to offer, both on-campus and off. On campus, she has worked as a research assistant to Professor Marion Crain and to Professor David Becker, competed in and earned the rank of finalist in the Wiley Rutledge Moot Court Competition, and held leadership positions with Women’s Law Caucus and the Labor and Employment Law Society. Off campus, she has volunteered as a mediator with the Better Business Bureau, interned with the EEOC, clerked at the Service Employees International Union’s headquarters, and participated in the Semester in Practice Program at the Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center. She is an Articles Editor for the Washington University Law Review and a dedicated public servant. Upon graduation, Katie will serve as a law clerk to the Hon. Bobby Shepherd, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

J.D. Candidates, 2016

Steven Alagna

Steven Alagna is from Kansas City, Missouri. In 2011, he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame where he majored in Political Science and Spanish and minored in Japanese. During his undergraduate career, Steven was a service and environmental commissioner for his dorm community, and he volunteered as a mentor through the marching band's Bandlink program. After graduating, Steven served in AmeriCorps for the Alliance for Catholic Education, a two-year service teaching program established by Notre Dame. Through this program, Steven taught middle school social studies in Jacksonville, Florida. As a second-year student at Washington University School of Law, Steven serves as co-president of OUTLaw and is the public service coordinator for the American Constitution Society. He is also a member of the National Moot Court Team.

Gursharon Shergill

Gursharon Shergill is currently a second-year student at the law school. Throughout her undergraduate career at Oakland University, Gursharon held various positions in healthcare providing care for elder residents at a skilled nursing facility. Before coming to law school, Gursharon worked as a Research Compliance Administrator, facilitating ethical research and ensuring the protection of human participants in research, at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. Active in the law school community, Gursharon is Social Action Chair of the Black Law Student Association, a member of the Honor Council, and a part of the Curriculum Committee. Gursharon also currently volunteers with Ready Readers. During the summer between her first and second year at the law school, Gursharon interned at Thompson Coburn LLP, in St. Louis.

J.D. Candidates, 2017

Jacqueline Ebert

Jacqueline (Jackie) Ebert graduated from University of Wisconsin Madison in 2013 with her bachelors in Social Work and certificates in Gender & Women’s Studies and Criminal Justice. During undergrad Jackie was involved in an array of volunteer opportunities. Her senior year she interned at Mendota Mental Health Institute and Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center, working with men and young males exhibiting signs of serious mental illness in the criminal justice system and planned an Alternative Springs Break trip to volunteer in various homeless shelters in New York City. Jackie spent the summer after graduation working as the Program Director at a Homes for the Homeless operated camp in upstate New York serving children who were in shelters or in the foster care system in New York City. She spent the past year working as the Volunteer Coordinator at an emergency seasonal homeless shelter in her hometown of Green Bay, WI, focusing on community involvement, engagement, and recognition of homelessness in the community. During her time at Wash U Law Jackie is looking forward to continuing her work with people experiencing homelessness in St. Louis and pursuing the dual degree of a JD/MSW. She is currently a member of OUTLaw and the Public Service Advisory Board.

Kevin Flannery

Kevin Flannery calls St. Louis home and is excited to be back in the city after six years working and studying in the District of Columbia and mid-Missouri. From 2008 to 2012, Kevin attended Georgetown University, where he studied theology and government. During his time at Georgetown, Kevin worked in the office of Senator Claire McCaskill and volunteered with LGBT advocacy groups on- and off-campus. With his bachelor's degree in hand, he returned to Missouri and hopscotched across the state to build support for then-state Representative Jason Kander's campaign for secretary of state. Not long thereafter, Kevin served as Secretary Kander's spokesman and media liaison in Jefferson City. In addition to working full-time, Kevin took night classes and earned a graduate certificate in public management from the University of Missouri. As a student at Washington University, Kevin plans to promote civic engagement and equal rights in the greater St. Louis area.

Kayla Ruben

Kayla Ruben is originally from Los Angeles, California. In 2013, she graduated from the University of California, Davis, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Professional Writing. Throughout her undergraduate career, Kayla was an active leader in several on- and off-campus groups, including Teach For America, UC Davis’ Office of Grants and Research, and UC Davis’ associated student body. She also volunteered as a camp counselor at a summer camp serving homeless and foster youth, and interned at the Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles. After graduation, Kayla worked in the behavioral health field as Marketing Coordinator for an internationally-recognized center for the treatment of eating disorders, and volunteered as a crisis line counselor for a Sacramento-based suicide prevention program. As a first-year student at Washington University School of Law, Kayla is a member of the Public Service Advisory Board and the Family Law Society.